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Hepatitis D

Hepatitis D is a viral infection that damages the liver, but it can propagate only when the hepatitis B virus is also present. Approximately 15 million people worldwide are infected with hepatitis D.

Cause

Hepatitis D is caused by the hepatitis D virus, which is found in certain body fluids of infected people. However, hepatitis D virus remains in the body only if the hepatitis B virus is also present.

Transmission

Hepatitis D can be found in the blood, semen, vaginal fluids, and other body fluids of people who are infected. Transmission happens when infected body fluid enters another person’s body. The hepatitis D virus will remain in the body only if hepatitis B virus is also present.

Hepatitis D virus is most commonly transmitted in the same ways as hepatitis B.

Sex with an infected partner

Contact with the blood of an infected person

Sharing of needles, syringes, razors, or toothbrushes with an infected person

Mother-to-child transmission during childbirth

There are two types of hepatitis D infection:

Co-infection, in which a person is infected with hepatitis D and hepatitis B at the same time

Superinfection, in which a person who is already infected with chronic hepatitis B is then infected with hepatitis D

Hepatitis D is not transmitted through shaking hands, coughing, sneezing, breastfeeding, or sharing cups and utensils.

Symptoms

Diagnosis

Healthcare providers review symptoms and can diagnose hepatitis D with a blood test, which will reveal the presence of antibodies to the hepatitis D virus.

Treatment

The acute form of the hepatitis D virus is more likely to disappear on its own in co-infection cases, when a person gets infected with hepatitis B and hepatitis D at the same time. Fewer than 5 percent of people co-infected will develop chronic hepatitis D.

In superinfection cases, in which a person with chronic hepatitis B then gets hepatitis D, up to 80 percent of people will develop chronic hepatitis D. These cases may result in severe chronic hepatitis D that often progress to cirrhosis (end-stage liver disease) or cancer of the liver.

The drug interferon may be helpful in treating disease conditions in some patients.

Prevention

Because hepatitis D needs hepatitis B to propagate, the best way you can prevent hepatitis D infection is to be vaccinated against hepatitis B.

However, there is no vaccine to prevent those who already have developed chronic hepatitis B from getting hepatitis D. The best course of action for hepatitis B carriers is to avoid the high-risk behaviors associated with hepatitis D superinfection, including

Sex with an infected partner

Contact with the blood of an infected person

Sharing of needles, syringes, razors, or toothbrushes with an infected person